Costa Rica Family Vacations

Customized Family Vacations to Costa Rica

Volcanoes and rainforests and beaches, oh my! We get it… we are parents, too! Our specialty is in creating stress-free, kid-friendly, parent-pleasing Costa Rica family trips. Browse our customizable packages to get started. Together we’ll create a family travel experience you’ll remember forever!

Hanging bridges, belching volcanoes, resort pools, and masked sloths. This is the stuff of nine-year old dreams! Busy kids, memories, smiling faces, and quiet sunsets. These are the hopes of parents everywhere. Your vacation to Costa Rica can deliver it all.

How to Choose the Right Destination

Stress-Free Travel Family

Tips for Traveling with Kids

The Top Family Vacations

• Celebrations
• Graduation Celebrations
• Girls’ Getaways
• Family Adventure Travel
• Conservation Trips

Welcome to an adventure playground and natural wonderland! There’s a sight, activity, and a place for every interest, travel style, and family member. Where there’s a curiosity, a discovery, an adventure to inspire childlike wonder, at every age.

Since 1999, we’ve developed the experience, the expertise, and the in-country customer service to build a personalized experience based on your travel personality. We plan custom vacations for families that guarantee safety, comfort and peace of mind. Tap into our unbiased advice, our kid-approved things to do, and our family-friendly luxury hotels. These are the elements of the best family travel to Costa Rica.

Traveling to Costa Rica with kids doesn’t have to be difficult. The last thing you want when you’re with your kids on vacation is to think about logistics, booking issues, or problems. When you book our family packages, you also have access to our 24/7 customer service team. Never worry about anything; we’ll take care of it, while you sit back and simply enjoy!

Choose the Right Destination for Families

Once you know WHAT you want to do then give some thought to WHERE you want to do it.

Costa Rica has a variety of landscapes and hotels to match. Do you want to be by a beach or looking at a volcano? How about both? We tailor your family getaway to be a multi-destination trip.

We’ll also help you choose the best accommodations in Costa Rica for families. Because we’re parents who live here, because we’ve personally stayed at all of the hotels we offer. This includes large and luxurious resorts for an all-inclusive family vacation. We’ve also seen all the boutique eco-resorts, hotels, and lodges for a more specific set of family interests. Once we get to know your preferences, we’ll help you find the accommodations that are perfect for both parents and kids.

As you plan your family travel, let our team work with you to create a unique experience that will satisfy your entire travel group.

Stress-Free Costa Rica for Family Travel

What do you do if there is an emergency when you are on vacation—or even if you just need some advice? Booking yourself or with a ‘faceless’ agency can leave you stranded and somewhat alone.

When you book with Costa Rican Vacations, you can rest assured that you’ll have an entire team ready to help you and your family.

Our travel experience team are dedicated to speedy and successful resolutions. Over two decades of experience means we have seen and are prepared for a large range of requests. From medical emergencies to lost passports and cell phones to on-the-spot helpful advice, we’re one call away.

If you decide to book last-minute tours, need to request special items, or just want to discuss the best options for tonight’s dinner, call us. We’re happy to help!

Knowing that your household is in safe hands—and that you have all the support you could ever need—will make your trip that much less stressful and much more enjoyable. After all, don’t you and your family deserve the best? Don’t delay, get in touch today!

Make This Your Best Vacation Ever…You Deserve It!

Tips to Travel in Costa Rica with Kids

A Costa Rica family vacation – well, family travel anywhere – can be tough. There’s a lot of planning and strategizing to do. The planning phase is never complete without some crossed fingers, negotiating, and compromise.

This likely has you feeling a little stressed. Let’s be honest: It would probably be easier to get a herd of African elephants to dance than it is to pull off “successful” travel with kids. That’s where we come in! With a bit of preparation and a dose of good cheer, our tips on Costa Rica for families will see you through.

1. Book in Advance

Spontaneity is an exciting way to travel, but it’s best left to solo or adults-only vacations.

After a long day on the road, you don’t want to arrive to a town with no hotel vacancies. If you promise your kids the turtle-watching tour of a lifetime, don’t wait to find out you’re visiting during the off-season. When it comes to kids and happy traveling, it’s better to book and plan well ahead of time.

2. Take Your Time

We don’t have control over every aspect of traveling. Delays, traffic and missed connections happen. But in our experience, the absolute best gift you can give your traveling group is time.

Once you’ve made it to Costa Rica, don’t pack so many tours and attractions onto the itinerary. Kids, especially younger ones, are all about the journey. They want to touch every rock and inspect every inch of fungus. Make sure you schedule enough time to let kids travel like kids.

3. Pack Important Items

The traditional packing advice is to pack lightly. That still holds true. But when you’re traveling Costa Rica with kids and there are items that you need to remember. This could be a special blanket, but also a favorite book, a preferred snack food, or the only song that will get your child to sleep.

This guideline extends to brand-name goods, too. Many areas of Costa Rica have stores and supermarkets that carry imported goods. But not all brands and not all goods. So, if there’s only one diaper brand that prevents your child’s rash, verify with us in advance.

4. Buy What You Can Locally

It’s preferable to leave most non-essentials at home. For example, there are dozens of cookies, crackers and other snacks to discover in any supermarket.

Diapers—even swim diapers and pull-ups, can be found almost everywhere. Baby wipes, antibacterial gel, sippy cups, and coloring books are readily available throughout Costa Rica.

5. Don’t Forget the Meds

If your any family members are on medication, prescription or over-the-counter…pack it. Even with OTC medications, you may not be able to find your brand locally.

6. Ready an Activity Bag

Create an activity bag that your children can take on the airplane, shuttle bus, or rental car. It helps to mix in standby favorites like a busy book for toddlers or handheld game system along with the latest diversions.

7. Pack the Tablet

Even if you avoid extended screen time at home, traveling can be the perfect time to bend the rules. Download some age-appropriate apps, load up the tablet with a few downloaded movies, and let your children veg out during a long car ride or layover.

8. Be Prepared for Costa Rican Weather

This sounds obvious, but pack weather-appropriate clothes. Being too cold or too hot can cause crankiness. And on that topic, don’t underestimate Costa Rica’s ability for cold or hot.

If you’ll be traveling to higher elevations, like the Monteverde Cloud Forest, bring layers and cozy pajamas. If you’re hitting the beaches, pack plenty of ocean-friendly sunblock.

9. Embrace a Routine

Children thrive on routine. When you’re traveling through Costa Rica with kids, that routine is often thrown out-of-whack. Kids may be a bit irritable as a result. We’ll work to plan activities, transport, and logistics around your children’s bedtimes, meal times and other important routines.

Most tours have morning and afternoon departures, so it’s easy to pick a time that works for your family. If hotel check-in and check-out times could cause problems, ask to request early check-in or late check-out.

10. Involve Your Kids in Planning

One of the most important parts of your family trip to Costa Rica is the pre-planning. Take some time to tell the kids about where you’re going. Set the scene: let them know that they’ll see monkeys or that the beach will be right outside their hotel room door. Get them excited about—and involve them in—everything you’ll see and experience.

Give your kids the chance to pick at least one activity—totally their choice. If this is a little too intimidating, let them choose from a parent-approved list. There are so many choices for family fun: hanging bridges, safari river floats, kayaking, canopy zip lines, and horseback rides.

The Number One tip when trip planning is: Make sure to pick tours that will wear them out. Whether it’s zip-lines or whitewater rafting, a full day of activities or hikes, choose tours they’ll love.

Remember, you’re in a kid-friendly and adventurous paradise. Costa Rica is the perfect choice for traveling with kids, from the youngest infants to surly teenagers and beyond. So, take a deep breath, relax, and enjoy your vacation!

Costa Rica Family Trips for Every Occasion

If you’re wondering what types of trips we can put together, the answer is ‘the one you need.’ With our experience and local knowledge, you can rest assured all your wants are taken care of.

Celebrations

Gone are the days when family travel meant long car rides or standing in line at a mega-theme park. Today, families are traveling further afar than ever before.

The dynamics of groups are also changing. Destinations like Costa Rica no longer only serve the nuclear family of years past.

Today, grandparents, cousins, and multiple families are planning epic, multi-generational journeys. Every day, we help families plan adventures that inspire, invigorate and educate.

Here are a few Costa Rica family vacation tips on organizing celebrations and group adventures:

A Graduation Event

Often, groups are traveling together to celebrate a monumental occasion or event. A high school or college graduation is an important milestone to celebrate together. This monumental accomplishment is typically followed by a life change. That may mean the graduate won’t be able to travel as freely.

Many of our clients gather their extended families for one last big trip before the graduate embarks on the next stage of life. For these groups, balancing sightseeing with relaxing together as a family is important. Oftentimes, graduation celebration trips are simply about celebrating and spending time together with extended family.

Costa Rica has a wide range of private vacation rental homes and villas. These come complete with staff, that can accommodate even the largest groups. This ensures your group is well looked after, so you can make the most of your time.

A Remote and Tropical Girls’ Getaway—Easier Than You Think

A number of world-class yoga studios and wellness retreats have opened across Costa Rica. The yogic principles are simple to learn when surrounded by the natural beauty found in Costa Rica.

Ladies of the family gather in Costa Rica to enjoy healthy, fresh food, and days relaxing at the spa. Costa Rica is the perfect destination for a healthy, invigorating and pampering girl’s getaway.

The Family Adventure

Did you know that Costa Rica is the birthplace of the zip line? Costa Rica offers plenty of opportunities for adrenaline-seeking families to play and explore together. From remote jungle lodges to beachfront resorts, families celebrate events together. You and your kids can zip line through the forest, hike up volcanoes or take surf lessons.

Working Together to Support Conservation

Though Costa Rica totals only 0.3% of the planet’s landmass, it holds 5% of the total biodiversity. This is unlike anywhere else on Earth. There are a number of ways travelers can get their hands dirty, helping scientists preserve Costa Rica’s environment.

Is your child embarking on a conservation internship or volunteer program in Costa Rica? Consider joining your young conservationist here, before or after the program.

You Will Love Your Holiday with Us, We Guarantee It!

Interested in learning more? We hosted a webinar, Guide to Family Travel in Costa Rica, with Tara Cabantingan, our Travel Consultant and guest speaker.